Coming from a wealthy and privileged background gives some a massive advantage over others. People who come from elites have a much greater chance of becoming financially successful and take on leadership positions - regardless of educational attainment -resulting from a variety of factors, such as elite education, exposure to rich cultural experiences, parental networks and familial support. To different levels, upper-middle and middle classes will similarly benefit from such advantages but to different degrees.You might never have thought about your place in relation to your socio-economic background and class before coming to university, as it’s likely that you will have attended a school with people similar to you, and your family and friends will tend to be from the same background as you. At the University of Edinburgh, we believe that all capable young people deserve an excellent Higher Education regardless of their background. We recognise that people from lower socio-economic groups often don’t have the same level of support and encouragement to go to university despite being extremely academically capable, so we have taken measures to address this. This is often known as ‘Widening Participation’. At the University of Edinburgh, students who come from middle to lower socio-economic backgrounds are in a minority. However, in the wider UK society, they are the majority. When we asked our widening participation students, we found that they were often unprepared for the experience of being ‘othered’ because of their background, leading to a strong sense that they did not ‘belong’ at the University.Discover more examples of privilege through an intersectional lens here.I guess I knew I was working class but I’m not sure how much it was really present to me when I was living at home. Like so many people I know from home, it was only going to uni that made us realise how working class we are. It’s so weird being isolated, surrounded by middle class and privileged people. Now I just assume I’m going to be surrounded by people who are better-off than me. This article was published on 2024-03-06